1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for restricted telephone message delivery.
2. Background Art
Telephone calls that are made by the residents (e.g., inmates, patients, prisoners, etc.) of a facility such as a prison, jail, mental hospital, rehabilitation center, or similar facility are typically restricted or limited. When an inmate tries to complete a collect telephone call using conventional approaches and the inmate encounters a busy signal or no answer at the called telephone number, the typical recourse using conventional approaches is for the restricted facility resident to continue to attempt to complete the desired telephone call until the collect call is answered and accepted.
One example conventional approach to restricted telephone message delivery for call processing for calls made from inmate facilities is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,665,380 to Cree, et al. (hereinafter the '380 patent). The '380 patent discloses an inmate messaging system and method for notifying an inmate in a prison facility of messages received from a caller outside the prison facility. The caller dials into the inmate messaging system using, for example, a conventional “touch tone” telephone. The caller is prompted by the system for identifying information, which is verified against known information in a database. Identifying information can include a PIN for verifying the caller's account. During a set-up session, the system prompts the caller to record her name. The name recording is used to verify the account when the caller leaves a message for the inmate, and is also used to identify the account when the inmate retrieves the message from within the prison. The caller can specify a time with the message for returning the telephone call, or have the call placed immediately. The inmate accesses the inmate messaging system via a prison telephone. If messages are pending for inmates residing in the vicinity of the phone, the inmate is provided with an option to retrieve a list of such pending messages. To hear specific messages, the inmate enters identifying information, such as a PIN. If the PIN is successfully verified, the system informs the inmate that a return call can be made to the caller anytime, or at a time specified by the caller.
However, conventional approaches for inmate calls have a number of problems and deficiencies. In some cases, the resident (e.g., inmate) may only have a limited time to access the facility telephone and the time allowed may not be sufficient to reach a party that answers and accepts the attempted collect call. In other examples, conventional approaches such as the '380 patent fail to provide the resident a system or method to complete the desired telephone call until the collect call is answered and accepted at the called party.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved system and an improved method for handling inmate telephone calls. Such an improved system and an improved method may address some or all of the problems and deficiencies of conventional approaches identified above, and provide additional features and advantages as discussed below.